[Today’s guest post is by Bryan Brooks, blogger, author and technology coach.]
For better or for worse, email and text messaging are the two primary ways people communicate in this tech-driven world we live in. Let’s face it, if you have used either one of these methods for any length of time, you have probably experienced sending at least one e-communication that had some degree of improper etiquette, maybe more, only to wish it could somehow be unsent. I admit that I’ve written a few bad ones in my life and have learned the importance of stepping away and to always take a pause before I send it.
Because of the amount of e-communication that we send on a daily basis, proper etiquette in those messages are critically important. And, if we don’t treat them that way, it can result in the recipients of those messages being completely offended and your judgment abilities called into question and even go as far as damaging relationships. And I don’t want you to experience any of those things. Here are some e-communication etiquette basics I found helpful, hope they help you too:
- NEVER! send an e-communication message when you are angry, and take the time out to cool down and re-read a message before sending it, make sure that nothing has been written that may be regretted later.
- ALL-CAPS in your e-communication. Using all uppercase letters in your e-communication is CYBER SHOUTING. As an alternative, use asterisks to emphasize key words. “We had a *wonderful* dinner last night.”
- Personal e-communication. If you are sending confidential or time-sensitive information, use the phone or meet in person. Don’t send or say anything you wouldn’t want repeated.
- Sloppy e-communication. It pays to check your e-communication before you click. Before you hit the “send” button, check for grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. Take an extra minute or two to proofread, or read your email out loud to be sure that it says what you want it to say.
- Joking e-communication. A joking e-communication may seem innocent but it may be insulting to someone else.
- Loooong e-communication. Keep it short. If possible, put your full message in the subject line. For example, “Can we meet this afternoon to check the procedure?” then finish the sentence with (EOM), the acronym for “end of message.”
- Buddy-buddy e-communication. It’s better to be more formal than too casual when you want to make a good impression.
- Congratulatory e-communication. A congratulatory e-communication doesn’t have the same impact as a personal thank you note, no matter how many people you copy on the message. Besides, most people cherish typed or handwritten notes.
- Oops e-communication. If you receive an e-communication that was sent to a multitude of people, including yourself, reply only to those who need a response.
- Tone in your e-communication. As you already know, tone in a message can be easily mis-interpreted. Take the time to make sure your message communicates a tone that can be easily received. The best way to gauge this is have another person read it before sending it.
Anyway, borrowing from that old carpenter’s adage “measure twice, cut once,” when it comes to sending e-communication, be sure to “Stop and think twice” before hitting that Send button.
Bryan Brooks runs the blog, TechSabbathHabit, is an author and technology coach. He owns the small business, KB Media Group, LLC, and serves as the Media Director at The Fathers House Church in Vacaville CA.
I think @Will was refering to your 1st point:
“NEVER! send an e-communication message when your angry”
Your should be you’re
Thanks, Shane! I re-read the post like three times and couldn’t find the typo. I just corrected it. Fortunately, thanks to texting, most people don’t see the typos . . . but I do prefer “typo-free” writing!
@Will – you’re not crazy . . . the typo was in there!! My apologies!
Sincerely,
Lauren
Good reminders. I have a minor disagreement with #9, particularly with business communications. I would, instead, say to reply to the group, unless you’re absolutely certain no one else needs to hear what you have to say. Failure to “Reply all” frequently fragments conversations.
Thanks for your comment! I agree, sometimes using “reply all” is a really good thing to do most of the time. Sometimes, though, it can be overused and just get annoying if the email doesn’t pertain to everyone in the group or every person doesn’t really need to know every detail.
Cheers,
Lauren
Thank you for this reminder, well stated and I promise never to YELL in my emails again 🙂
Glad the article was a helpful reminder not to yell in your emails!!
Blessings,
Lauren
“Sloppy e-communication. It pays to check your e-communication before you click. Before you hit the “send” button, check for grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. Take an extra minute or two to proofread, or read your email out loud to be sure that it says what you want it to say.”
That’s ironic, given that your first point has a grammatical error. It should be “you’re” instead of “your.”
Great suggestions, though.
Hi Will, Actually, the use of “your” is correct in the copy above. Read it again and insert “you are” – “or you are email out loud . . . ” – that’s not right, sorry dude. Glad you liked the other suggestions! Thanks for reading ChurchTechToday! If you ever have any church tech topics you’d like us to write about, I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
Blessings,
Lauren